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It was another beautiful weekend in the city for Kramer and I. Well, if you discount Friday, when it poured all evening long – we were able to enjoy ourselves nonetheless, though, by heading over to Maison Premiere for meaty $1 oysters and some fancy cocktails with some friends that just moved to town. On Saturday, we did some chores around the house then went to M Shanghai Bistro for some amazing soup dumplings. They were so delicious that we had a hard time waiting for them to cool enough to actually eat. We also had some fantastic pork belly there, which was, of course, incredible. On Sunday, we headed up to the Hamptons yet again for my company’s annual outing. There was softball, swimming, and burgers – the perfect Sunday afternoon in the sunshine, if you ask me! After all that excitement, my week looks like it will start out fairly quiet, as Kramer is going to Washington, D.C. on business. I’m excited to get some cleaning done in my spare time – the apartment really needs a good, deep clean, especially because on Thursday, my brother, Dane, and his girlfriend, Erica, are coming to visit for a few nights. I can’t wait to show them all around town, and most importantly, take them to so many great restaurants! I’m trying to narrow down my list of “must eats”, but it’s so hard. Wish me luck!

In the interest of starting my week off right, I want to share this boozy banana pound cake with you. It’s not overwhelmingly alcoholic, but it’s got just the right amount to brush the stardust out of your eyes first thing in the morning, and best of all, it pairs perfectly with a cup of coffee or tea. This is a dense, buttery pound cake, so a small slice is all you need to get you going, which is great, as it freezes well and thaws quickly. I added some chocolate chips because, well, why not, along with cinnamon and cardamom. The crusty caramel bottom, which also includes bourbon, may be the best part of this pound cake. It crackles when you cut into it, as well as when you take a bite, and if that doesn’t draw you to this cake, I’m not sure what will!

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Grease your pan (I used a bundt cake pan) with non-stick spray or butter and set aside. In a food processor or mixer, whisk together your flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and cardamom. Add in the cubed butter, and using either a food processor, your hands, or a pastry cutter, blend the butter into the flour mixture until coarse crumbs form. Add in the milk and mix until moistened. Add in the bananas, bourbon, and vanilla extract, and mix or pulse until evenly combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spread the batter in your cake pan and bake for 30 minutes, then rotate the pan, and bake for another 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside.

When the cake is almost ready, make the caramel. Melt together the brown sugar and butter over medium heat, then add in the milk and bourbon. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and remove from heat when it is thick and amber colored. Poke holes all of your warm cake with a skewer or something similar, and pour the caramel over the cake, being sure to use a spatula to get the caramel around the sides of the cake, as well as in all of the holes. Allow to cool completely before inverting the cake and serving for breakfast, a snack, or dessert!

You had me at the word booze but then i saw you pour that delicious caramel all over it and i literally just stared at the screen wondering how quickly i could make this cake a reality! I am definitely going to be making that caramel if not the whole cake, i think i could drink that by itself! Is it possible to bake not in a bundt tin can i ask?

I saw this in the morning before work, and had to make it when I got home! House smells so yummy, and the taste is lovelyyyyy. One of my favorite combinations is banana and chocolate. Add booze, and it’s a definite winner. Thank you for sharing your recipe with us!

My kind of recipe: a splash of alcohol, chocolate AND caramel. Nirvana to be sure! too bad it’s so flippin’ hot and muggy here now ( 38C with humidity) or I would be in the kitchen drooling , impatiently sticking my face as close as I possibly can to the oven window. You can bet I will be trying this as soon as there a break in the weather!

Hello.
I love your site, btw.
Your picture narration says to add heavy cream with the bananas, but there is no heavy cream in the ingredients or directions. I made it according to directions and it definitely did not make as much batter or as smooth of batter as your picture shows. Am I crazy?

Oh ok, thanks for responding =). It’s good to know you switched ’em out. It still turned out delicious, but I didn’t use a food processor, just a pastry cutter, so that could definitely be the problem. Someday I will get a food processor. I only just got my stand mixer a couple months ago (sometimes I wish I could have a wedding just for the kitchen appliances, lol.)